Hyperdimension Neptunia- War of Time
by NB1224
Summary: Nepgear, and all the CPU's lives are thrown out of whack when a new stranger shows up, bearing news of an oncoming threat that only he can vanquish. Trusts will be tested, Gamindustri must face it's own demise, and the spirit of an unholy blade plans to tear the nations apart. Can this new stranger and his allies be trusted? Rated M for later themes, language, and heavy violence.


Hyperdimension Neptunia- War of Time

Chapter 1

" _Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"_ – Dr. J, Robert Oppenheimer, speaking about the atom bomb tests

* * *

"I… I can't do it… not you, Jr…"

"Do it, sis. I've had to before… but to you. We have to defeat this… thing"

"Maybe he's wrong… there's got to be another-"

"JUST KILL ME ALREADY! Just… make it quick… we'll see each other again… once you win, it'll reset everything, like they said."

"…"

"I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry you have to go through this…"

"I'll try to make it painless…"

"Do it, Neptune…"

"*sniff* I'M SORRY!"

*Slash!*

"Ugh… it hurts… a lot more… than I thought…"

 _" Again… wrong… what the hell am I not seeing!? Maybe… next time I can get it right…"_

* * *

Nepgear awoke with a start. The darkened dreamscape snapped to daybreak through the closed curtains. She was sweating, her breathing heavy. Something felt… off. Her memory of the previous day was faded, as if it had never happened. All she knew was it was one of those days' worth forgetting. She checked the time on the alarm clock she had made herself. Normally 10:27 AM would have her rushing out of her room to get work done, but thankfully, it was a Saturday, her day off.

"Oh… thank goodness…" She got out of her bed, and made it, redoing the arrangement of pillows. She leisurely went and fixed her hair, and got dressed. She'd made sure to not disturb any other residents of the Neptower. Today was going to be a nice, relaxing day. At least, that was the plan. It seemed a day of peace was impossible for a CPU nowadays. But Nepgear was determined to stay out of trouble today.

* * *

The streets were bustling with people. The weekends were always a common day for vacations, and shopping sprees, of course. Obviously there were those like Nepgear herself, just there to take in the scenery. She was headed to a popular coffee house to meet Uni, and potentially Rom and Ram, if they were allowed to leave their rooms this time…

On her way, she passed a café that always had music playing. Popular hangout for musicians, and people who liked to see the live shows that were there sometimes. There was no live show, but the speakers played an interesting tune, one that Nepgear didn't recognize. It was slow, but had a very operatic tune to it.

The only bit she could make out was something living forever. Odd that Nepgear never thought of that question. Being a CPU, she didn't age at all, so living forever was something she just ended up accepting early on. Never seemed to prod at her before. What happens if she made a big enough mistake? What if a CPU died? The thoughts were terrible, so she pushed them aside.

Her thought train was interrupted by sudden gasps, people pointing to the sky. What looked like a comet, or even just a boulder, was cascading from the air, colliding with the nearby forest. Anyone in there needed help, and fast. At least, that was the initial thoughts. Obviously, there was something odd about this crashed ship, and Nepgear needed to investigate.

There was a small gap of time, and the space was filled with the sound of an engine roaring, a familiar voice yelling.

"Gear! Let's go!" the familiar blue coat, and motorcycle whizzed into view, skidding to a halt before the stunned girl. IF was… an interesting person, to say the least. The fact that she was a guild agent, who had somehow made every Planeptune CPU a close friend. What mattered now, was that she was good at driving a motorcycle.

"What was that!? It was huge!" Nepgear asked, bewildered at what her eyes just saw.

"I know. We're going to wherever that thing hit, hopefully it didn't do very much damage…" the brunette replied, grasping Nepgear's hand and yanking her onto the bike, taking off at amazing speed. Passing the café, the best Gear could see was the blurry image of a familiar raven-haired girl, staring at her, bewildered.

"IF, slow dow- GYAAAAA!" the bike popped a wheelie, speeding to the impact zone, which was not too far into Virtua Forest. The bumpy dirt path was not making the ride any better, either.

Once the duo arrived, the surprising thing was there was no crater, despite how large the fireball was. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary, and this one guy that they had never seen before. It was that last point that caused the two to freak out.

"Okay, who the hell are you?" IF asked, obviously on guard.

"Ow… okay, the pain in… my spINE is new…" the mystery man stood up, twisting at the torso, an audible popping sound was heard. He paid almost no mind to Nepgear and IF being there, the latter now growing more and more impatient.

"Um… hello there… mind explaining what the hell just happened"? The impatient girl asked, folding her arms. He just casually walked past the duo, saying

"I'll tell you in town. C'mon, let's just get this nonsense over with."

IF raised an eyebrow

"Do we… know each other?" She asked, looking at Nepgear, who was still processing the situation.

"To an extent, needless to say. You're important here, no?" He gestured to the lilac haired girl, who jumped at his mention of her status.

"U-um… Yes. Who… are you?" the purple-haired girl asked, trying to not become flustered as she was questioned. Internally cursing her shallow emotions, and inability to hide her inner thoughts to others. IF, meanwhile, grew even more impatient.

"Yeah… a name would be helpful, pal."

"I'm simply a wandering traveler. As for my name…" He brushed off his coat. "Like I said, I'll explain later, I need to eat, it's been a while." He stood up tall, and tapped the ground with his staff twice, before walking off, towards town. Leaving a stunned duo behind.

"Okay… what the Hell just happened?" IF slowly asked, her mind finally beginning to process everything said.

"I… don't know. But I'm getting a weird sense of Day-Ha Woo."

"Déjà vu?" IF corrected the Candidate. Odd that that was what both of them were feeling.

"Yes, I feel like… we've done this before…" she sighed, and looked back. "Maybe we should get going?"

"Yeah… though I feel you. Maybe it's because Nep's done the 'falling from the sky' niche so often…"

The duo quickly rode off, stopping at the café. Nepgear shyly wandered in after IF, knowing she was in for a yelling. Immediately as they entered, a raven-haired young girl stormed up the duo, her red eyes glaring into Nepgear's lilac ones.

"What was all that about!? Running off and forgetting about our plans? You are seriously hopeless, Nepgear…" IF spoke up, doing her best to not sound rude.

"It was a heat of the moment situation, Uni. It was my fault, I didn't see you there." Uni seemed to calm down, but only a small bit.

"Ugh, whatever. Let's just eat. Rom and Ram had to go home already." The group chuckled at the twins' harsh curfews, and sat down to eat, the waitress promptly took their orders, and soon conversation ensued. They mostly spoke about things like plans, fun stories, monsters that they had slain, and, of course, bragging. It was going quite well, despite the slight confusion that happened before.

It was then, that the waitress placed down a large, elaborate plate, with 3 slices of a pure white cheesecake, with light and dark purple swirls and plates. The Galaxy Special, the most expensive item on the menu. The 3 of them couldn't have afforded it, even combined.

"Um… we didn't order this, ma'am. I think you have the wrong table." IF said, wondering if it was a good idea to turn down the display.

"Nope, it's from the gentleman over there" she pointed to a corner table, and walked away. There, looking at the trio, was the man they had met earlier, with a sly grin that IF would have described as maybe even shit-eating in a way. _How'd he get that many credits?_ Nepgear thought to herself, glancing at a slice. IF rolled her eyes, and slid over a chair, motioning for him to sit next to her. He obliged, and sat in the seat next to her. Despite the harsh glares from the two of the girls, he seemed surprisingly comfortable, even nonchalant. He sat across from Nepgear, who just stared at him, puzzled. He sighed, glancing at the trio before him.

"I'd assume you're a bit… confused, yes?" he said, in a casual tone.

"More than." IF interjected. "You show up out of nowhere, make a scene, buy us food, and not even a name. So either you're just an ass, or you're flirting." He laughed.

"I'm not flirting, believe me. If I was, it wouldn't be from the shadows."

"So, an asshole. Got it." IF responded, folding her arms.

"You're not wrong, but I'm here to speak with the goddess that oversees this land. Neptune, is it?" Nepgear choked on her drink, the sudden mention of her sister startling her.

"W-what do you need with Neptune?" Nepgear quickly blurted out, sitting up.

"You will see. I know you can help me out here."

"And in return?" IF asked, raising an eyebrow, Uni just looked between Nepgear and IF, not sure how to react to the situation.

"You wanted my name? I'll give you that, and more."

"Deal" IF quickly said. It was settled, then.

A madman now had an appointment with a goddess.

* * *

"So, allow me to comprehend this…" Histore, even for all her knowledge, was struggling to wrap her head around the strange traveller's tale.

"So you come from an alternate dimension-"

"Multiverse, Histore, _Multiverse_."

"Multiverse, and you came here, because of a discrepancy within Timespace, that you are attempting to fix?" She shook her head.

"I cannot simply accept this, you understand, other dimensions were hard to comprehend, but, alternate universes, _multiverses_? I do not believe you speak the truth, I'm sorry." Their guest simply nodded.

"Understandable, it took me 3 or 4 years to fully get it… Can't say it's easy to research, either. I'm confident that proof of what I say will appear soon enough." He turned to Neptune, the CPU tilting her head.

"I don't suppose there's a place around here that I can stay in?" He motioned to the clock, which read 2:35 PM. It was mid-afternoon, yet there was no reason for him to remain, there wasn't any real space in the basilicom for him to stay, so Histore (After 3 minutes) pointed him in the direction of a nearby hotel, where he would be able to stay. They bid him farewell, and he headed out of the room.

"I still don't trust him." IF said, glaring at the door.

"Iffy, you got some trust issues if ya wanna always be the grumpy, questioning questionnaire. It'll be fine, just you wait." Neptune chipperly replied, skipping around. "Well, I'm gonna finish this level, it's been a tough one- ow, ow, OW!" Histore yanked Neptune by the ear, dragging her to the office. "You haven't finished your paperwork yet, Neptune. You're almost done, it will take you an hour at most." Neptune let out a cry of agony, and turned to her younger sister.

"Nep jr, help me… NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Neptune whined as she was dragged away to her work.

"Well, today was interesting…" IF said, absentmindedly checking one of her many phones. Nepgear, Uni, and Compa all joined her.

"Maybe he's nice, Iffy. Besides, he sounds like he could help us out!" the nurse cheerfully said, smiling. Compa had, as long as anyone there had known her, almost always was smiling, unless she was scared or sad. But her overall demeanor kept others happy, and that was important nowadays.

"I know, Compa. It's just… something doesn't feel right to me. Maybe it's just how… sudden this all is." IF stated, sighing. It was then her phone started ringing, and she answered it quickly.

"Hello?" her expression shifted to shock "WHAT!? HERE!? We're on our way!" she hung up. "We have a problem. Huge, high-class monsters are in the city!" Everyone stood up and shouted in shock.

"We have to do something!" Nepgear immediately ran to the balcony, and activated HDD. Uni did so as well, the duo flying off, IF and Compa rushing to the elevator.

* * *

The city was in a state of panic, huge monsters were slaughtering the people left and right. The Guild's best fighters were losing ground, and worst of all, these were new creatures. The frightening red aura that surrounded them reeked of despair, and they moved as a unit, which was the odd part. No monsters EVER moved like that. When Nepgear and Uni got to the scene, the monsters had the clear upper hand. They both got to work, firing blasts, yet their attacks stopped short, dissolving into nothingness before they made contact.

"How the Hell are they negating our attacks!? That should have killed them!" Uni shouted. That was true. Normally an EXE attack would obliterate a creature, even of that size. Something was definitely up.

"I can do this! HYAH!" Uni charged towards the beasts, deciding to get closer. It was then Nepgear realized the horrible place they were in.

"Uni! Look out!" Nepgear shouted. Before she could even heed the other candidate's warning, Uni was struck by one of the monsters, sending her flying. Her body hit the ground, transformation breaking. She slammed into a streetlamp, and fell limp and in pain. Nepgear rushed to defend the fallen candidate, her aggression beginning to rise. There was clearly nothing she could do against these things, considering their attack power. It was at that moment, Nepgear's worst thoughts had come true. " _Am I about to lose? No! I can't! I have to keep fighting!_ " But she couldn't. Not while those things cancelled out their attacks. She fired another beam attack at the creature, the attack dissipating yet again. She did aggravate the monster, and it charged at her, its claws reared up, and it brought its gigantic hand down. Nepgear shut her eyes, and braced for the attack.

But the blow never came.

Her eye opened, and saw the sparks flying off the quartars and claws of the beast, and her ally.

"Gear, now is not the time to stand around!" IF shouted, doing her best to hold her ground. Nepgear grabbed Uni and fled the monster's claws, moving as fast as she could to save her friend. One of the other creatures swiped at her, its claws missed, but she was knocked to the ground by the massive paw. Her vision blurred, and she felt sick. She dropped Uni, and collapsed, her transformation breaking as well. _But how?_ How was this thing doing as much damage as it was? There was no doubt that they were altered in some way, but what?

The answer was quickly given when the guild agent was launched backwards, crashing into a nearby building. Nepgear saw a strange metal device on the back, an eerie red glow emanating from the center.

"Nepgear, are you okay?" Nepgear looked up and saw Neptune, rather Purple Heart, as the goddess descended onto the defeated candidates. Uni had begun to stir, but it was simply weak, pained moans.

"Neptune, our attacks have no effect on these things! I think there's something about the device on their back, we couldn't land a hit!" Nepgear said, worried about the outcome of their despair.

"IF and Compa aren't able to do much, either. We have to get creative, it seems." Neptune replied. IF came flying over to them, Compa retreating to her allies.

"Damn it! There's nothing we can do! These guys aren't even flinching at my attacks!" IF cursed, holding her injured arm.

"Is this… the end? I don't wanna die here!" Compa wailed, the three menaces closed in on the group of five, the center one roared, and lept onto the group.

Nepgear had instinctively slammed her eyelids shut, awaiting the end, but she heard feet running, and then the beast yelp(?) in pain, followed by a loud thud. When she opened her eyes, she saw the stranger from before, his staff in hand, eyeing the other beasts down.

"Don't tell me you five can't handle a little kitty? This…" he said, extending the end of his weapon, electricity flowing through the exposed core. "Is how you deal with a beast from Hell!" He swung at the second beast, the creature was sent flying upon impact, slamming into the third. He wasted no time, and brung the staff down on their heads, killing the second beast. The first and third beasts lept at him, he dodged effortlessly, and knocked the first beast to the ground, and he used his staff to break the creatures neck. The third one, which seemed to be the toughest, began swiping, biting, and slashing at him with incredible speed. He deflected the attacks, but one powerful swipe knocked him back. He stopped his momentum, and wiped the blood from his cheek, angrily.

"Alright. I'm done pissing around." He readied himself, and lunged at the beast. "Perish you damn beast!" His weapon shot electricity at the monster, and with a swift motion, he sent the beast back, its body disappearing mid-air. The others stared in shock as he stood there for a few minutes, catching his breath. Oddly, a metal harness of sorts was left, with an ominous red glow emanating from a small chamber in the back. Nepgear, intrigued, opened the casing, and saw a small, crimson crystal. It looked familiar, but she was too curious, and reached for the gem.

"Nepgear! Don't touch that!" the stranger yelled at her. A second too late, she picked the crystal up, before she immedentally felt a wave of nausea, and weakness fall over her, she collapsed, dropping the crystal, and coughing. The rest of the group rushed over to her, Neptune hoisting her sister up.

"Are you okay, Nepgear?" she asked. Nepgear cleared her throat, then responded

"I'm okay… I just… felt really sick all of a sudden." It was then, Neptune noticed the crystal.

"We should destroy that crystal." She heard shattering sounds behind her, and saw the new character breaking the other crystals. He walked up to them, and picked up the crimson gem, and spoke.

"It only hurts CPUs. That means someone wants you all dead. C'mon, I think I might know what this is… He turned away, and led them to the Neptower.

* * *

"Soo… what're we lookin' at, Histy?" Neptune asked, in her usual, nonchalant way. Noire groaned, tossing her black twintails.

"Something really dangerous. You saw what it did to Nepgear, and Uni still feels sick! This… thing needs to be destroyed ASAP."

"Indeed. Noire is correct." Histoire responded to the CPU's request. "It is an Anticrystal. More accurately, an Anticrystal that is 3 times as powerful as a normal one. As such, it will be destroyed immedientally." Blanc jumped in shock.

"Those could kill us easily. It's for the best if we destroy those all quickly." Vert responded. She rested her chin in her hand, thoughtfully.

"Indeed. That has already happened. No other traces of these were found. It seems these were the only three. And now, there are zero." Histoire floated back to her studies. The candidates gathered around Uni, who was able to sit up and speak now, her strength returning quickly.

"Uni… I'm sorry." Nepgear apologized for the 22nd time.

"Don't be… I was reckless, and got hurt for it." Uni said. She turned, and looked Nepgear in the eyes. "But thank you. You got me out of danger, probably saved my life. So thank you, Nepgear." The purple haired candidate smiled, Rom and Ram giggling at how fast Nepgear's mood changed. The four CPUs joined their younger sisters, Noire relieved at Uni's recovery. They talked for a while, Histoire joining them after some time. It was the quiet Rom who broke the mood, by tugging Blanc's sleeve. Blanc was annoyed at first, but she knelt down to talk with her younger sister.

"What is it, Rom?" Blanc asked. Rom, silently pointed at the elephant in the room. Rather, the man on the balcony, observing the lights of the city. He had been silent after handing the Anticrystal to Histoire, and excused himself when the CPUs arrived. Now, all eight of the Goddesses were transfixed on the stranger. IF and Compa were amongst the group, which, including the oracle Histoire, were all, all eleven of them, were only asking one question to themselves. _Who is he?_ He'd been silent this whole time, and hadn't spoken to the CPUs, Rom and Ram. The 11 approached him, his posture not changing. IF was the first to step forward, and before she even inhaled to speak, he spoke.

"Siniblao" he said aloud. The whole group were confused. He turned, maintaining his exact position, and spoke again.

"Siniblao Starborn. There's my name, before you ask." The whole group was dumbfounded. He turned back to observe the city. "I came here, yes. From another multiverse. It's… hard to explain, so to put it simply, I don't belong here, yet I exist, so I can exist here." He let out a sigh.

"Like I said, it's way too complicated. People hate reading monologues, and a soliloquy would make me look crazy, or just overly spiritual. Which I am neither of those." It was IF that spoke after that.

"How did you beat those monsters? Gear and Uni couldn't do anything, and my and Compa's attacks didn't so much as tickle them. How did you do it?" She asked, irritated. He summoned his staff, the whole group taking a step back. He rolled his eyes.

"My weapon. It's a multi-function, electric-kinetic impact staff. Which means…" he extended the end of the staff, electricity coursing through the extended end. "When extended, the end here has an electric power core, that upon impact, transforms the electric energy into kinetic energy." Rom and Ram were completely lost, Neptune was having issues pronouncing the word 'kinetic', and Nepgear's eyes were sparkling. Siniblao sighed. Then spoke. "It means that when I hit something, the electricity becomes force. So, a light hit, becomes a heavy one. And a heavy hit, well…" he retracted the staff, and put it away. "I've shattered quite a few ribcages." Noire spoke next.

"All I care about, is that you're an ally. Are you?" She crossed her arms. He nodded.

"Surely." He chuckled. "Unless any of you plan on ripping timespace apart. Then, we will be enemies."

After he spoke, a strange portal opened just inside from the balcony. Siniblao pushed his way to it.

"Stand Back!" He shouted, blocking the others off. "That's a rift. Likely another timeline, bleeding into this one. Which means…" he extended his staff, and walked up to the portal. "If I'm not back in 10 minutes, that means I'm either dead, in a different universe, or lost." And with that, he headed into the portal. Nepgear was the one to break the silence.

"I hope he'll be okay…" she quietly said. Her hands lightly fidgeting around. The others agreed to wait for him to come back, or for the portal to close. It was 9 minutes in, and no sign of him.

"Maybe he got lost?" Ram said. Rom nodded, and agreed.

"Maybe, but I feel like that part was a joke…" Blanc coolly replied. Just then, Siniblao came soaring from the portal, and slammed into the wall. He springboarded off, back into the portal. Everyone stood up, but stood there in surprise. It wasn't until he fell back out, that the group saw, with an air of horror, whom he was battling.

Nepgear.

His opponent was Nepgear, at least, some other Nepgear. She was in HDD form, but wielded a beam sword. The blade had a crimson glow, and Nepgear swore she saw the other CPU's faces on the blade, as if they were trapped inside. This, twisted Nepgear saw the CPUs, and held her sword to Siniblao's neck.

"What godforsaken illusion is this, _FAKER_?! ANSWER ME!" She screamed with pure anger and insanity when she spoke. Siniblao remained silent, and quickly stood between the CPUs and the insane Nepgear. She yelled at them all "TELL ME, DAMMIT! WHAT. IS THIS?! TELL ME, I COMMAND YOU, WORM!" He sighed.

"I told you, it's an alternate timeline, you aren't listening clearly, otherwise you'd-"She cut him off with a sword swipe.

"Bull. I know these aren't _real_ CPUs. I would know, I had to KILL THEM! AND NOW YOU'RE TAUNTING ME WITH THEIR IMAGES!" She let out another cry of rage, before charging Siniblao. His staff was knocked from his grip, and he stood there for a moment, shocked that he lost his weapon.

"Well, I didn't need that anyways, apparently…" he shrugged, then began dodging Evil Gear's chaotic sword slashes. Eventually he was able to grip onto her wrists, thus preventing her from attacking. She struggled, and began violently thrashing, flying around the room to shake him off. But it didn't work. They hit the floor, and the sword was dropped. Evil Gear lunged at it with lightning speed, yet somehow, with an impossible change of speed, Siniblao held the sword, and with one swoop, slashed the Evil Nepgear, then stabbed her in the abdomen, her stance relaxing.

"You… you actually…" her word were choked, and rough.

"You don't have to apologize anymore." Siniblao responded, before the Nepgear dissolved into the blade, its crimson glowing brighter.

"Wha-what is that?!" Noire shouted. Siniblao walked to the edge of the balcony, brandishing the cursed blade.

"Gehaburn" he said aloud. "This blade has the power to take a goddesses' life, and now…" he inspected the hilt "It has the souls of every CPU from its timeline within it. Meaning it's the most powerful blade in Gamindustri as of right now." He picked up his staff, and looked off the balcony. "I think… it'd be best if we destroyed it." He tossed the blade from the balcony, the sword landing on the bridge that connected the Neptower to the rest of the city. He lept from the balcony, his staff charging its power up, before he brung the staff down on the blade, causing it to swell with light, before bursting, the cursed sword leaving a black mist in its wake.

The group joined him at the bridge, and they all watched in horror, as the sword's power materialized into a humanoid form, before taking the shape of a human, and created attire for itself. The sword's new form was large in stature, and took the appearance of a human, with a suit on. He glanced at his hands, showing he was very much alive. The group tensed, waiting the worst.

"It looks like…" Began Noire, unable to find words.

"The spirit of Gehaburn has created itself a body… didn't think it would be capable of that, even with such a massive power boost…" Siniblao finished her thought, adding his own opinion. It wasn't until Gehaburn spoke that the whole group realized what had just been created.

"Gehaburn… the name I hold, is it not? Yet here I stand, no longer the cursed blade of legends, but I am what I've longed to be. Free. Yes… it is a good feeling…" Gehaburn spoke in a smooth, refined voice. His structure poetic, and formal. Siniblao spoke first.

"Free? I wouldn't say you're freed, pal. Once your original form was destroyed, your timeline collapsed. So, you'll cease to exist. Sorry about that." Gehaburn spun around, his pale skin, and black hair visible to everyone. Despite his charming looks, he had an air of danger and violence to him.

"No. I will be freed, I am eternal, and I refuse to allow time to dictate my life's span. Nor will I allow my freedom to cease. I will sleep in an endless void if I must. I will stay alive!" With that, a black portal, more of a hole, appeared beneath Gehaburn, and he fell in, the hole closing. Siniblao prodded at the spot where the hole appeared.

"Well. That was a dying timeline… he's dead now. Probably. At least he won't bother us for a while." He said. He spoke to Histoire, who had just arrived. "I'm sure now, that this universe is about to de-stabilize, which could end them all. I require lodge, and substantial information. But rest assured. I am your ally now." He spoke, and the oracle agreed to allow him to stay.

After a short goodbye, the CPUs returned to their respective nations, and settled in for the night. Nepgear went to bed early, Neptune still on the couch playing video games. She lay in her bed, her mind trying to process everything that had happened that day. Alternate dimensions, sure. But the multiverse? The _Omniverse?_ It was all… just a lot to take in. Nepgear's thoughts slowly became sleep, as she closed her eyes, and slipped into sleep.

* * *

Nepgear's peaceful dream was broken with a loud thud, followed by the sounds of a struggle. Histoire has it rough, dragging Neptune to bed every night. Yet something else had kept her up. She heard the door to the balcony open, yet nobody went out there at night. She slid out of bed, grabbing a flashlight, and put on her slippers, and headed to the balcony.

The city's lights were up, it was quite the spectacle to see, despite how high up they really were. The skyline was obscured only by the figure standing at the railing, looking off into the distance, at the individual night runner, or perhaps just someone with a night life. He observed how busy the city really was at night, despite there being a huge number of people who, at this point, had to have been asleep. Nepgear's philosophical thought train was broken by Siniblao speaking to her, without turning her way.

"It's fascinating, really. The beauty of a single fleeting moment, how nobody remembers it after time." He let out a sigh. "I, too wish I could forget them all as well." Nepgear tilted her head.

"I'm sure someone will remember these moments, right?" she asked, walking up next to him. He chuckled.

"Perhaps someone will. I doubt that it will be important to them. After all, when a moment passes, it is gone. More than I can say of a year, or an eternity, if that was a unit of reasonable time. You, the other goddesses, may exist for an eternity, but your moments are limited. Like any other, you will die someday. But that day may not come until time itself stops." His words were poetic, yet haunting.

"Histoire says you defy all logic, existing outside of us, and Gamindustri as a whole. Hyper Dimension, Zero Dimension… wrapping my head around that was a challenge, and I still sometimes don't get it." Nepgear sighed. It was true. For as much as she loved technology and science, alternate dimensions, and now the whole of every Multiverse was exiting, but also terrifying and confusing. It made her feel miniscule, and insignificant, at best.

"I feel you. Trust me, it took me several decades to understand everything. And I still don't fully understand it. It changes constantly, but it keeps itself the same." He paused, and took out the pocketwatch that he kept on him, even though he had no need for one. "Like I said, it make no sense, and I wouldn't expect it to." He palmed the watch, and opened it up. Nepgear noticed its' intricate detailing, but the oddest thing about the trinket, was the fact it had 2 set of hands. A standard, plain set that ticked away, showing the time down to the second. The second set, however, was far more detailed and intricate, swirls and with odd symbols on it. It was stationary, but was set at exactly 12 on all three arms. It was a very strange thing, but yet the rest of the watch shared this same motif throughout the face.

"My power, how I was able to beat her to the sword back there, how I saved you last second from that monster. How I got here in the first place. Was all thanks to this." He extended his hand to Nepgear, and beckoned her. "Take my hand." She was confounded by the request.

"Why? There's no need for us to hold-"

"I said take my hand. Otherwise I can't show you." She nervously placed her hand into his palm, noticing how large his hands were. He was a giant, for sure, but she hadn't thought about proportions. She shifted uncomfortably.

"So, why do I need to-" She was cut off by Siniblao pushing up the winder with his thumb, the detailed arms snapping to the place the standard arms were, and everything stopped, turned a pale, light blue color. "Wha- what the…" Nepgear couldn't believe what was happening.

"There will come a time in which time itself will become the enemy. And in that moment, there will open a place where time is in your hands." Siniblao spoke poetically, as though it was a prophecy of some sort. "Or something like that, I dunno, I just made it up a second ago to sound cool, it sounded better in my head. But do you not understand what I am yet? I am the master of Timespace. I have the ability to traverse time and space, all with the help of a single, little watch. I've lived longer than any being in the Omniverse, save for like, 27, but they predate all of history 2 predate time itself." Nepgear was in shock. He could do this!? How? And most importantly, why? How much power did he possess?

"Y-you can control time?" She stuttered, shaking with shock. He shook his head.

"Controlling time is impossible. Same with stopping it. I _manipulate_ it. But I cannot control it." Nepgear collapsed, Siniblao catching her. "Easy now, I know it's a lot, but you'll be ok. Can you stand?" Nepgear nodded, and stood on shaking legs.

"Y-yes, sorry, this is all just… too much to take in. Sorry." She composed herself as best as she could, and began to take in the view. The way a single moment paused itself was breathtaking, like a picture that surrounded you, but reality. Before she had a chance to take it in fully, Siniblao took her hand and pushed the winder into place, the blue aura receding quickly into the small watch, and everything moved again. She paused for a moment, and he let go of her hand. Nepgear stood, in shock for a moment, before taking a breath again. Siniblao pocketed the watch, and faced the balcony.

"I used that power to come here as well. I don't know why, but Time and Space are linked, and I can traverse both. I came here to find something that… nevermind. I think you've seen far enough to comprehend at this point. We should rest." He wandered to his room, and closed the door. Nepgear went to her room as well, closing the door behind her, and going to bed.

Unknown to her, Siniblao and Histoire met in the room that housed the Sharicite, and began speaking on the manners at hand.

"… I didn't come here for no reason. I'm not just looking for something, rather _someone_. Someone dangerous. I have no doubt you've felt the fluxuations in activity around here. Monsters more aggressive, attacking towns… something big is out there. And I hope I'm wrong about what may be causing this…" Histoire nodded in response.

"I am aware. However, such a thing is very difficult to keep track of. I have run calculations, but by the time I'm finished, it's outdated…" Histoire's data took up to three weeks to process, and by that point, most everything changed; making the data useless. Even the other three nations couldn't explain what was going on. Histoire let out a sigh. "There must be something we're all missing, but what could it be?" Siniblao raised an eyebrow in thought, and after a short while spoke.

"Have you tried analyzing the differences in data? Any consistent patterns? If there's a pattern, we can throw it off." He spoke with conviction, as if he wasn't searching for the solution, but rather an already mentioned answer. Eventually, he decided to rest for the night, that way it would be easier to discuss the matters with the other Goddesses. He moved to the elevator, taking the moving platform to a lower level of the tower, and took the large guest room that was given to him.

"Now… let's see if this old thing works… hopefully I can make contact…"

* * *

The next day, it was just as it normally was. Nepgear, Neptune and Histoire ate their breakfast at the table, as usual. Their new guest politely chose to not disturb them in the mornings, and instead went elsewhere to eat. They ate in mostly silence, the two goddesses trying to process everything that had transpired the previous day. Neptune was the first to break the silence.

"Sooo… What's on the agenda for today, Histy? I got allll my paperwork done, so that means I get to do some fun stuff today!" She gloated at her completion, even though she was pretty much forced to do it. Nepgear and Histoire both silently said that to one another, before Histoire began speaking in her usual, business-like tone.

"It appears we need to find out more information on those things that you fought yesterday. I've been running numbers on these creature attacks recently. I found out a temporary solution, so I can begin more complex calculations. You and Nepgear will go to the caves near Virtua Forest. That's where I believe you will find more information." Virtua forest was one of the safest places outside the city of Planeptune. It was a popular site for smaller villages and even most normal people for a trail walk, bike ride, or even the occasional camping/hunting trip. The Guild kept it safe, because although it had a fairly high number of monsters, they were all pretty much the weakest, mostly the irksome dogoos, and other low-level creatures. Going there seemed like a step back for the sisters, because of the raw power of the beasts from the previous night.

"Virtua Forest? C'mon, Histy! That's noob territory! We're max-level monster slaya's, we deserve a challenge!" Nepgear nodded in agreement.

"Neptune is right, we are really powerful." She took another bite of her breakfast, and politely paused before continuing. "Unless there's a clue there, I think we need to go a little further." Histoire immediately spoke once the Candidate finished speaking.

"We're looking for a mineral, those harnesses had a metal substrate only found in Virtua Forest's cave systems. You two will join Mr. Starborn, and- "Histoire was cut off by the sudden appearance of the man in question, even though he had never used the elevator.

"It's more like Chieftain Starborn, really. I'm from an ancient tribe of warriors, and being the last, I'm technically the highest in command, as well." He stood at the counter, where the spacious kitchen was. Histoire jumped, and angrily responded.

"How did you get in here!?" Siniblao laughed, and flatly responded with:

"Magic. Yeah, I know magic." He began, quite theatrically, drawing a sort of glyph mid-air, the lines having a slight flame effect about them, the drawings were deep blue in color, and the drawing in some places drew itself. He paused, and dissipated the spell. "Oh, by the way, Histoire, I'll also need some Crimsonium Crystals." Histoire looked at him, confused.

"What would you need those for? They are very rare, and very dangerous as well, acquiring one would require- "Siniblao cut her off with

"You forget who you're talking to. When you two goddesses are finished, I'll be waiting in the lobby." With that, he summoned a portal, which took the appearance of a clock face, that then opened into a portal, and disappeared once he stepped into it. Neptune sighed.

"Looks like this'll be a looong day…"

* * *

 **LORDY! Took almost an entire year to finish this, but mostly because of 1: Changing the first bit, and 2: writers block and S**t hitting the fan for me. I'd like to point out that this is kind of a crossover between HDN and an original verse, but I'm not putting it down as such, because that's not really an option. Chapter one done, probably more to go, we'll see. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to comment with your thoughts.**

 **~N**


End file.
